Jules David Prown research material on artists measures 12.2 linear feet and 0.004 GB and dates from 1935 to 2010, with the bulk of the material dating from 1958 to 1975. Prown, an art historian and educator, is an authority on the work of artist John Singleton Copley, and these papers contain related notes, subject files, correspondence, portrait and attribution files, and photographs and digital photographs of artwork. Also found are Prown's research files on other artists, including Benjamin West, typescripts of his lectures, and copies of his published writings.
Scope and Contents:
Jules David Prown research material on artists measures 12.2 linear feet and 0.004 GB and dates from 1935 to 2010, with the bulk of the material dating from 1958 to 1975. Prown, an art historian and educator, is an authority on the work of artist John Singleton Copley, and these papers contain related notes, subject files, correspondence, portrait and attribution files, and photographs and digital photographs of artwork. Also found are Prown's research files on other artists, including Benjamin West, typescripts of his lectures, and copies of his published writings.
The bulk of the collection consists of Prown's research material on the work of John Singleton Copley, including notes and correspondence he compiled while working on his dissertation and later two-volume work John Singleton Copley. Of interest are a set of notes regarding the computer analysis of sitters of John Singleton Copley. Included are detailed biographical forms for each sitter and lists of codes and cross references used for Prown's computer analysis. Topics of his notes and subject files include biographical information on Copley, technique and materials, specific works of art such as Watson and the Shark, and painting themes. Correspondence found throughout his research files usually discuss dates of paintings, attribution, and provenance. Photographs and related printed material are often included with correspondence.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 5 series. The original order of the donor was maintained.
Missing Title
Series 1: Research Material on John Singleton Copley, 1935-2018 (8.8 linear feet; Boxes 1-9, 15, 0.004 GB; ER01)
Series 2: Research Material on Benjamin West, 1965-1990s (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 9-10, 12-14)
Series 3: Research Material on Other Artists, 1950s-2008 (0.4 linear feet; Box 9)
Series 4: Lectures, 1960s-2010 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 10-11)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1960-2000 (0.3 linear feet; Box 11)
Biographical / Historical:
Art historian Jules David Prown (1930- ) is a Paul Mellon Professor Emeritus of the History of Art at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. He is an authority on American art and material culture. Prown is a graduate of Lafayette College and the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture at the University of Delaware. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1961 with a dissertation on John Singleton Copley. That year he joined the faculty of the Department of the History of Art at Yale University where he was also Curator of American Art at the University Art Gallery and the founding Director of the Yale Center for British Art. In 1966 he published the two-volume John Singleton Copley. While working on the publication he conducted an in-depth computer analysis of Copley's 240 American sitters. Prown retired from Yale in 1999.
Related Materials:
Jules David Prown papers, 1954-2018, is located at Yale University Archives.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Jules David Prown from 2003-2023.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
